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Why don't you relax a second? Get your bearings. Let's see what the damage is.

Doc Mitchell is a surgeon and doctor living in Goodsprings in 2281.

Background[]

Mitchell was born in Vault 21, where he was known by the nickname "Mole Butt" by the younger residents.[1] He left the vault and wandered the Mojave as a traveling doctor, but eventually returned to Vault 21 in New Vegas and married his childhood sweetheart. Like a majority of its inhabitants, Mitchell was evicted from the Vault by Robert House after the latter won a game of blackjack against the dwellers.[2][Non-game 1] Mitchell and his wife then began traveling together and were headed to California.[3]

However, his wife died close to Goodsprings due to the weak immune system she had from living in a vault her whole life. Unable to continue without his wife, he settled down and retired there so he could always remain close to her, but also secured the position as the town's doctor.[4]

When the Courier was ambushed and shot in the head by Benny, Victor brought them to Mitchell for treatment. They subsequently recovered thanks to the medical care provided by the doctor.

Interactions with the player character[]

Interactions overview[]

Interactions
Icon quest starter
This character starts quests.
FO76 ui icon quest
This character is involved in quests.
FO76 vaultboy firstaid
This character is a doctor.
FO76 ui trading team
This character is a merchant. Sells: various medical supplies

Quests[]

  • Ain't That a Kick in the Head: Doc Mitchell is ultimately responsible for saving the Courier's life after Benny leaves them for dead. Awakening from the coma, Doc Mitchell runs numerous procedures and tests to make sure the Courier is "alright." This serves as a milieu for character building, as well.
  • Ghost Town Gunfight: Mitchell provides the defending residents with stimpaks and/or 2 doctor's bags to help defend against the Powder Gangers.
  • Run Goodsprings Run: The player can persuade Mitchell to give them stimpaks to help the Powder Gangers with Medicine 25.

Other interactions[]

  • Mitchell revives the player character after being found by Victor and sets the character's stats for the game with the help of the Vit-o-matic Vigor Tester. He then gives the Courier a set of weapons (depending on tagged skills), a Vault 21 jumpsuit (either his own or his late wife's, depending on gender), and his old Pip-Boy 3000. Having either of the pre-order packs, or the Courier's Stash installed, the items will be added when the game begins, though cannot be accessed until receiving the Pip-Boy 3000.
  • Prior to leaving the house for the first time, the Courier can also gain an additional eight stimpaks if the Medicine skill is initially lower than 30 by passing a Speech check (30). An additional Medicine check (30) can be completed after using the Today's Physician on one of his tables, followed by another Speech check (30), again this must be done before leaving the house the first time. All three skill checks reward 30 XP for a total of 90 XP. Similarly, with attribute builds that start both Speech and Medicine above 30 (e.g. Int 10, Chr 10, Luck 7), Medicine can be temporarily lowered by drinking alcohol (e.g. from Mitchell's refrigerator) to temporarily lower it below 30 and enable passing all three checks.
  • During the word association part of the psych evaluation, if the player picks any of the following; kick, demolish, crush, heavy and human shield, Doc Mitchell will mention how disturbing their answers are.
  • If in the word test "campfire" is picked as an answer, the next word will be "enemy" instead of "bandit."

Vit-o-matic comments[]

Mitchell's dialogue is influenced by the Courier's choice of S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes.

Attribute Extreme Comment
Strength Low "That's some serious atrophy, even for someone who's been in bed awhile. It's a wonder you can move at all."
High "Surprised anybody'd want to tangle with you. Heck, you could go deathclaw hunting with a switch."
Perception Low "Now I ain't no optometrist, but maybe we should fit you for some glasses while you're here."
High "Nothing gets by you, huh? Coulda used you when I lost my keys last month."
Endurance Low "I just don't get it. A stiff breeze'd tear you in two but a couple of bullets and you're right as rain."
High "I guess that explains how you're still alive. You're built solid as an oak."
Charisma Low "Huh. Must be some frontal lobe damage."
High "Good to see them bullets didn't affect your charm none."
Intelligence Low "Sorry, son/little lady. I fixed up your head as best I knew how. I guess I missed a spot."
High "Look at that. Maybe them bullets done your brain some good."
Agility Low "Don't have all your coordination back yet, looks like. You should think about doing some rehab."
High "Most patients don't get out of bed after being shot and then move like they was in perfect control. You're unusual, I'll say that."
Luck Low "Now that don't make a lick of sense. Seems to me you're the luckiest son-of-a-gun in New Vegas."
High "With Luck like yours I'm surprised them bullets didn't just turn right around and climb back into the gun."
All None "Yep, that's a pretty standard score there. But after what you been through, I'd say that's great news."
  • If the highest attribute is Strength at 8 and the lowest is Perception at 1, he will comment on lacking Perception.
  • If two stats are at equal opposite extremes, for example Strength at 10 and Perception at 1, he will comment on the high extreme.
  • If two or more attributes are tied for an extreme, he will comment on the one corresponding to the latest letter in SPECIAL as a form of tiebreaker. For example, a Strength, Perception and Endurance all at 9, and no other attribute at 1, he will comment on Endurance.
  • If all attributes are between 4 and 7, he will use the "pretty standard score" comment.

Inventory[]

Apparel Weapon Other items On death
Field hand outfit Laser pistol* Bottle cap
Forceps
Med-X
Stimpak

* Only during Run Goodsprings Run.

Notes[]

  • None of the items in his home are flagged as being owned, nor will he care about having something taken from in front of him.
    • Similarly, he will buy back stolen items from around Goodsprings, unlike Chet and Trudy.
  • One of his inkblots bears a remarkable resemblance of two bears high-fiving. A mod was made that changed one of the answers from "A head on a pillow." to "Two bears high-fiving." The mod was then homaged in Honest Hearts with the Two-Bears-High-Fiving Wild Wasteland occurrence.

Notable quotes[]

Appearances[]

Doc Mitchell appears in Fallout: New Vegas and is mentioned in the add-on Old World Blues.[5] He also appears in Showdown in Skull Canyon, a supplement for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game.

Bugs[]

PCPC Doc Mitchell will not fix radiation poisoning if the player character selects any other fix after that choice until they exit out of dialogue with him. [verified]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Courier: "You know Doc Mitchell?"
    Sarah Weintraub: "Mitch!? You know "mole-butt?" I hadn't thought about that name in a long time. I was just a child, and he had a big mole in his rear bumper. You understand, kids and all that. Everyone knows about each other in a Vault, there's no other way. I hope mol... I mean Mitch, is doing well!"
    (Sarah Weintraub's dialogue)
  2. The Courier: "I saw your old vault on the Strip. Vault 21, right? Mr. House filled it with concrete?"
    Mitchell: "Yep. He sure did. Wanted himself a hotel, and to make sure once he made the change there'd never be any going back. We didn't get a say. Don't know how you'd argue with a fella like that anyways, everywhere and nowhere all at once. So just like that, we was all homeless. Went our separate ways, and that was all she wrote."
    (Doc Mitchell's dialogue)
  3. The Courier: "Tell me about yourself, Doc."
    Mitchell: "Well, I already told you I came from a vault. After that, was a traveling doctor for a spell. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Most folks out here ain't educated, so people with medical knowhow are hard to come by. Found that I could help a lot of people with what I knew, and that was all right with me. Eventually, I went back and married my childhood sweetheart and that was the end of my traveling days. Didn't miss it none then. Still don't."
    (Doc Mitchell's dialogue)
  4. The Courier: "Is that when you settled out here with your wife?"
    Mitchell: "Eventually we made our way out here. But uh... Well, when folks spend their lives in isolation, sometimes that ain't the best of things for learning to fight off germs. We was going to California, but Goodsprings was as far as we got. After she passed, wasn't no reason to keep going. I stayed so I could keep close to her."
    (Doc Mitchell's dialogue)
  5. The Courier: "The bullet that went into my brain? Doc Mitchell tried to patch me up, but..."
    Dr. Mobius: "[SUCCEEDED] Yes. Very good. I should have Mentats ingest you instead of the other way around. Mmm. Mentats."
    (Dr. Mobius' dialogue)

Non-game

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